that you're a slick straight chick!” she said and gave Paulette a sisterly hug and kiss.

*

The very next evening Meg phoned, effervescent with enthusiasm.

"Dad and Mom met Paulette! Their black-sheep son was looking pure as snow in a winter-white fitted suit. Paulette looked—and even behaved as though just fresh from passing her entrance tests into Byrn Mawr. She talked chastely but intelligently with the folks. They thought her quite sweet-glad that she was my friend. Mother's taking her to an alumnae tea tomorrow!"

Next day a phone call from Paulette, his earring dangling noisily against the ear piece: It was fun to remind him of the usually habitual act for a girl to remove one earring when phoning-I wouldn't want to forget the kicky fact she was a boy, also.

"Mother told me that she wished I had been her daughter-instead of the no-good son we disowned," as she put it. "Hold your fingers crossed, Zelda, Meg and I are trying for the rainbow jackpot."

Next their mother called and said "I've got the loveliest feeling about Paulette, Zelda. A really terribly strong wistful maternal feeling. You know how I tried to make you into a pretend second-daughter. Before I get lost beyond recall, would you tell me a little bit about Paulette's background?"

Homicide comes easy for me and it was no trouble to kill off Paulette's small-town parents in a car accident-"Too bad, too. Lead- ing citizens of their town. Yet left poor Paulette without a soul. And with college right in her future!" I could sense Zelda's mother taking the bait.

Days passed perhaps though it seemed like minutes-miracles hap- pening so fast. Meg called ... with the rainbow jackpot!

"Zelda-the best possible happened. Daddy and Mom know I needed a roommate, also a little sister-so why not have a play-adoption, but really treat Paulette quite like a daughter. Even to sending her to my college! Isn't that scrumptious? Thank goodness for that hopeless gen- eration gap-so wide that the old folks can't see ten cubic yards of

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